Playing at Forever - By Michelle Brewer Page 0,46

let’s get this show on the road,” Tommy announced, bouncing down the stairs airily. He wore a pair of dark jeans with a gray dress shirt and black sweater vest—the picture of perfection. Penny was, once again, taken aback by how handsome he could look without any amount of effort at all.

“You kids have a good night.” Graham called as Penny hopped off her stool and hurried to catch up with Tommy. She didn’t even bother looking behind her to acknowledge the other man.

“You two looked pretty serious back there.”

“Oh, it was just business,” she told him. Wasn’t it always? “You’re driving?” She questioned as the garage door began to open.

“Is that okay?”

“Of course,” Penny told him. Inside the garage were two very fast looking cars, one some classic convertible, the other much more modern. “Your choice.”

“Let’s go with the one that’s least likely to make a mess of my hair,” she told him, approaching the newer car.

“The Porsche it is.” Penny hopped into the passenger seat, starting to feel slightly nervous.

“Don’t worry, Pen. It’s just business as usual. Just smile a lot. Laugh here and there. These people are no different from you.”

“That’s what you say,” Penny shook her head, knowing better. Just because Tommy thought the world of her didn’t mean everyone else would.

“It’s what I know.” She sighed as he backed out of the garage and hit a button, allowing the gate to open. Within moments, they were flying through the crowd of photographers, taking off down the street.

It took much less time to get somewhere in L.A. with Tommy behind the wheel, Penny mused as they pulled up to a very busy looking restaurant. A patio encased by a short, white picket fence buzzed with faces she recognized. “All right, Pen. Here we go—no turning back now.” Tommy squeezed her hand as the valet approached, opening her door for her.

As she stepped out, several cameras began flashing and Penny turned to look for Tommy—feeling his hand in hers before she could see him. He smiled at her as they walked toward the entrance. “Good evening Mr. Davis,” the pretty girl welcomed him. “We have a table waiting for you on the terrace.”

“Thank you, Miley.” Tommy nodded, following the woman who approached them. Penny clung to his hand, looking straight ahead so as not to stumble if she saw someone too famous.

“Graham must’ve called in some favors for this one,” Tommy muttered as they were seated at a table very near the fence. “To get this table on such short notice? Unheard of.”

“Well, that Graham is certainly something, isn’t he?” She had to remind herself to keep smiling. “Tommy, isn’t that Ryan Wilson behind you?” Ryan Wilson had been the villain in one of Tommy’s more recent movies. Tommy turned around to look.

“So it is.” As if on cue, the other actor turned around to greet Tommy. “Ryan, this is my girlfriend Penny.”

“Finally settling down, are we?” Ryan gave Tommy a pat on the back. “About time, man.” He turned his attention to Penny. “You’ve got yourself a good guy here—especially if you can get him to put down some roots.”

“Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Penny smiled. “Let’s just see if he can make it through dinner first.” Ryan laughed, nodding his head.

“You’d be a fool to mess this one up, man,”

“You know, I’m starting to think you might be right.” Tommy told the man, grinning happily as Penny tried to hide her enthusiasm.

By the end of the night, one thing was clear: Penny was a hit.

Tommy took an extra long shower the next morning, trying very hard to let the hot water relax his tense muscles. He knew it was useless, though.

Being around her this much was…killing him. Literally.

He sighed, tossing his towel aside as he left the bathroom.

Penny was upstairs, presumably still sleeping after their late night. She’d had a ball, joking around with Ryan and his date. It had been everything Graham had hoped it would be and more.

The two of them had been quite the pair.

It wasn’t that Tommy was unhappy with the results. No, it was quite the opposite. He was elated everything had gone so well, especially for Penny.

But it meant that her integration into his life was almost complete. Soon enough, he wouldn’t be able to go anywhere without being reminded of her in one way or another. And for a relationship that began with a predetermined expiration date…well, that didn’t bode well for him.

He’d had a hard